Put the suspect ring in a baggie overnight, and then carefully smell the inside of the bag: if it smells like vomit, it could be the butyrate ring Gibson was making in the late '60s or early'70s.
However, the way the legs/posts for the screws mold directly into the corners makes me think it is...
Spray into the slot on the pots, right behind the wiring terminals, lightly with this stuff and then work each pot full-sweep a bunch of times and see if that fixes it. Use sparingly, no need to hose everything down. :)
:cheers...
In 1963, Gibson shipped 2278 of these. They aren't really 'rare'.
IMO unless you are keeping an heirloom for resale purposes, do what you want with it! Good tuners, minor routing for the pickup you want - go for it! You've already done irreversible reaming and screw holes.
My buddy found a...
1954 logos can be higher too:
OP - please post pics of the bridge/tailpiece area, showing the plugs for the wrap tailpiece.
FWIW - most Gibson re-fins from the '50s and '60s have a dash between the year and the other 4 numbers in the impressed serial number, ie. 4-1389, not 4 1389
:dude:
You could always buy a player-grade before the person who wants to convert it buys it. Yes, the prices get driven up but that's the market. An 'issues Ferrari' gets Ferrari-esque prices, not issues-Yugo prices - one is desirable, the other not so much. Player grade Goldtops are desirable - both...
You might have what we call a '4-digit '58' - the early ones in 1958 had only a 4-digit serial number without the year number in front of the 4 digits.
Look for:
- serial number fairly well-centered on headstock
- body edges have a sharper radius compared to normal
- remove the plastic pickup...
I still think it's because of the larger base plate and suspended mounting of the dogear P-90 as opposed to the smaller base plate and screwed to the body mounting of a regular soapbar.
FWIW - I absolutely agree that 1952 and some 1953 trapeze guitars have excellent+++ pickups! :dude:
I was recently offered the same guitar by a private 3rd party helping the 'inheritee' - so apparently the guitar is still available.
Unfortunately the 'geniuses of the internet' have convinced him that the guitar is certainly worth almost twice a 'real' price, and it won't sell anytime soon.
Interesting that you use the word 'polite' to describe those! :thumb:
I've considered every '50s Special I've played to be too polite for me - I prefer Juniors. IMO the suspended mounting of the Junior's dogear P-90 makes it sound better than regular soapbar P-90s.
Believe it or not, a fairly well-known and knowledgeable friend told me at a recent guitar show that he used to have a 1960 Goldtop Les Paul. He insisted it was a 1960. I suggested he was referring to a 1968 or 1969 but he held firm to his recollection.
:cheers: